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JohnAugust.com

John August ·2003 Watch / Read Source
“Screenwriting is craft AND profession. The best education covers both from a working writer's perspective.”
A comprehensive screenwriting blog from an Academy Award-nominated writer. 1,500+ posts covering craft, business, software tools, and professional wisdom — plus a script library with drafts, outlines, and finals.
Search 1,500+ blog posts covering every aspect of craft and business, plus a script library with real drafts.
Won't help with: structured curriculum, systematic skill progression, or deep dives into emotional craft.
Topics structurecraftindustry
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Summary
Your profile shows specific vulnerabilities in structure and pacing that this resource directly addresses.
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How It Teaches

Encoding fingerprint and cognitive approach

Theory
Examples ›
Balanced — practical advice is grounded in specific examples from August's career and the scripts he shares.
Mechanism
Heuristic ›
Balanced — explains both why things work and what to do about it. Practical without being simplistic.
Diagnostic
Prescriptive ›
Prescriptive-leaning — August gives clear, actionable advice. 'Here's what to do.'
Global
Local ›
Balanced — ranges from career-level strategy to specific craft techniques.
Cognitive Mode
Te + Ne
Teaches through extraverted thinking — practical, organized, systematic treatment of craft and business topics with clear advice (Te). Activated by extraverted intuition — the blog covers an enormous range of topics, making connections between craft, business, technology, and professional life (Ne). The combination produces a resource that is both practically useful and intellectually expansive.
Te makes the advice practical; Ne makes it expansive. Together they create a comprehensive resource that serves the whole writer, not just the craft.

What It Teaches

Central thesis and key premises

Screenwriting is both a craft and a profession, and the best education covers both simultaneously. A working writer's perspective — grounded in actual production experience — provides more useful guidance than theoretical instruction.
Teaching Modality
Professional Blog
Approach
1,500+ searchable posts covering every aspect of screenwriting craft and business, from a working professional's perspective.
Craft + Business Integration
Screenwriting education that ignores the business is incomplete. Understanding how scripts get made — development, production, marketing — makes you a better writer.
Structure
Script Library
August shares his own scripts (drafts, outlines, finals) as teaching tools. Seeing a professional's actual work process — including the messy drafts — demystifies the craft.
Writing Tools and Technology
August (co-creator of Highland screenwriting software) integrates technology into craft. The right tools remove friction; the wrong tools add it.
Professional Writer's Perspective
Advice comes from actual production experience — not theory. August writes about the realities of development, rewriting for directors, and navigating studio notes.
Structure
Accessible Expertise
Complex craft concepts are explained simply, without jargon or condescension. The blog assumes intelligence but not prior knowledge.

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